Sale of properties left over from tax sales doubled in 2018

Rosa Salter RodriguezFebruary 15, 2019

Allen County had much better luck disposing of properties left over from delinquent tax sales last year, the county commissioners heard this morning.

John Caywood, manager of the Allen County Community Development Corp. and head of the county’s building department, said 271 properties were sold in 2018 -- more than double the 129 sold the previous year.

He told commissioners the better number was the result of a better economy and “some very deliberate marketing to get these properties back on the tax rolls.”

Caywood said the Community Development Corp. is responsible for disposing of both properties with abandoned structures, where owners owe back taxes, and vacant land when buildings are condemned and torn down.

“We have been pretty successful at selling vacant lots,” he said. The department has done target marketing to neighbors, Spanish-speaking residents and immigrants from the former Burma, he said.

People are buying them not only to build or to expand homes but also as play space for children or for garden plots, he said.

Some also are sold to nonprofits for redevelopment into homes, he added.